National Wrestling Alliance: Total Nonstop Action [January 22, 2003 - December 17, 2003] CM Punk had been the most zealous follower of Raven's Gathering. The two had a volatile past on the independent wrestling scene in the U.S., most notably in the Ring of Honor promotion, where the two had a blood feud over their divergent lifestyles of debauchery & avarice vs. straight edge. However, in TNA, the two had formed a mentor/student bond & Punk regarded Raven as a role model & someone who he could respect & learn from to become one of the greats in the wrestling industry. However, Raven's interest was keyed in on achieving his destiny of becoming NWA Champion. He decided the best course of action was to leave The Gathering behind & set Julio & Dinero free. Punk refused to accept that Raven would abndon him & kept watching Raven's back; assuming Raven was testing his loyalty. Jarrett & his flunky in TNA's power structure, Don Callis, kept throwing obstacles in his path to the gold; namely TNA Redshirt Security's Legend, Northcutt & Wilson as well as the monster Abyss. Raven had success against them one-on-one but the numbers game was too much. Punk kept pleading for Raven to let them help him, but instead he chose The Sandman as his partner against them. Finally, Raven relented after further losses against the Redshirts. Callis offered Raven a chance to face Jarrett for the Title if he could take out Abyss, Northcutt & Legend at once. If Raven failed, he could never challenge for the NWA Title again. On December 17, 2003, Punk & Julio turned on Raven, claiming he abandoned them for personal glory costing him his destiny. Worse than that, the man they sought to be their new mentor: none other than Raven's hated blood rival, The Sinister Minister, Father James Mitchell! >>